Method for manufacture of stocking toes

ABSTRACT

A method of knitting the closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear using a circular knitting machine which includes a needle cylinder having needles sliding in longitudinal grooves of the cylinder and a hook platen with hooks which slide in radial grooves of the platen, comprises first knitting a main portion and thereafter knitting an annular section pouch with a double layer of fabric at one end of the main portion, each layer being knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion. Retaining loops are then formed on the hooks at the end of the double layer substantially at the extremity of the toe portion. A first end flap of fabric is formed after the loops between the hooks and the needles and thereafter the first end flap is disengaged from the needles by keeping it engaged to the hooks through the intermediary of the loops. The two layers are then collected together or throttled in order to close the fabric and the loops are returned to the needles. Thereafter a further course of stitches is knitted to produce a second final flap.

Gorini 1 51 Aug. 22, 1972- [54] METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE OF STOCKING TOES [72] Inventor: Edmo ndo Gorini, Via San Vittore 38/B, Milan, Italy [22] Filed: April 3, 1969 21 Appl. No.: 812,996

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data April 10, 1968 ltaly ..4513 N68 [52] US. Cl. ..66/95, 66/173, 66/187 [51] Int. Cl ..D04b 9/54, D04b 9/56 [58] Field of Search ..66/l, 95, 169, 170, 173, 178, 66/ 187, 41

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,894,891 1/1933 Sachsenmaier ..66/173 X 2,747,390 5/1956 Reymes-Cole ..66/l73 3,254,509 6/1966 Tenconi ..66/4l 3,301,012 1/1967 Tenconi ..66/41 3,340,706 9/1967 Currier ..66/1 X Primary Examiner-Wm. Carter Reynolds Attorney-McGlew and Tuttle [57] ABSTRACT A method of knitting the. closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear using a circular knitting machine which includes a needle cylinder having needles sliding in longitudinal grooves of the cylinder and a hook platen with hooks which slide in radial grooves of the platen, comprises first knitting a main portion and thereafter knitting an annular section pouch with a double layer of fabric at one end of the main portion, each layer being knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion. Retaining loops are then formed on the hooks at the end of the double layer substantially at the extremity of the toe portion. A first end flap of fabric is formed after the loops between the hooks and the needles and thereafter the first end flap is disengaged from the needles by keeping it engaged to the hooks through the intermediary of the loops. The two layers are then collected together or throttled in order to close the fabric and the loops are returned to the needles. Thereafter a further course of stitches is knitted to produce a second final flap.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures METHOD FOR MANUFACTURE OF STOCKING TOES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method for the formation of a closed toe in a stocking or another equivalent article, by means of the creation of a double layer of knit fabric, that is as an annular section pouch similar to the so-called double welt, and with a closure at the center of said pouch, the latter being advantageously made with a reduced number of operative needles.

2. Summary of the Prior Art In articles of this kind, the forming of a closed toe, that is the interconnection at the center of the fabric forming the pouch is generally effected by relative rotation between the initial portion and the end portion of the fabric forming the pouch before matching, that is before the insertion of the knitted end on the needles, which retain the initial end of the stocking fabric, or is effected by winding of one of more yarns which close the article at the height, corresponding to substantially half the height of the pouch before the insertion.

With the previously proposed methods, the article may be started at the closed toe, which involves a substantial modification of the conventional knitting system. By starting the article from the welt in the conventional manner, the toe after being formed and closed, must be manually turned inside out in the case of closure by rotation, or must be formed with more than two fabric layers, in the case of closure with a clamping or closing thread or yarn.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a method of knitting the closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear comprising the steps of knitting a main portion, knitting an annular section pouch with a double layer of fabric at one end of the main portion, each said layer being knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion, interconnecting the two layers of the double layer substantially at the extremity of the toe portion, forming an end flap of fabric with loops, picking up the end flap by retaining means of the machine through the intermediary of said loops, and after formation of the interconnection at the extremity, knitting further courses of stitches to produce a final flap.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a method for the formation on a knitting machine of a closed toe portion of a stocking, said toe portion having the form of an annular section pouch with a double layer of knit fabric and an interconnection between the two layers substantially at the center of the pouch, said method comprising the steps of forming a main portion of the fabric, excluding from operation a proportion of the needles of the machine, said excluded needles retaining the stitch, forming the pouch with operative needles interposed between the excluded needles, forming yarn loops and engaging them on the hooks of the machine, forming courses of knit fabric beyond said loops, forming the central interconnection between the layers of fabric of the pouch, taking-up the knit fabric by releasing the fabric from the hooks on to the needles, and forming a final knitted flap having a plurality of end stitches.

Preferably, the method includes, after the completion of the tubular fabric, the following stages, exclusion of a portion of the needles from operation, which needles retain the stitch, and knitting of the annular section pouch with the remaining, operative, needles interposed between the excluded needles, forming of yarn loops on the hooks (or other equivalent retaining means), forming of a plurality courses of fabric beyond the loops and subsequent exclusion of the yarn feed or supply, central clamping or interconnection of the pouch, while the end of the pouch being formed is supported by the hooks, renewed pick-up of the fabric by clearing the hooks on the needles, and finally forming a final flap with a plurality of courses of end stitches.

Preferably in the formation of the pouch the opera- 1 tive needles amount to one half of the total needles dur-, ing the formation of the main portion of the stocking and alternate with the inoperative needles which retain the stitches, but remain lowered and inactive.

The final flap is preferably formed with all the needles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 to 6 diagrammatically illustrate the method of proceeding for the formation of a closed toe portion in a tubular knitted article, in particular in a tubular article which is to form eventually a stocking; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an article diagrammatically in section at the closed toe portion thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT.

Referring now to the drawings, needles 1 of a circular knitting machine each have hooks 3, a latch 1A and are arranged to retain the yarn loops, and thereby to support the knit fabric. The needles 1 are slidable in longitudinal grooves of the knitting cylinder 5 and are dles lY are kept operating; in particular and advantageously one half of the needles lY, interspersed with the needles of the other half 1X are kept operating. In this way a fabric pouch or pocket M1 is formed and it is developed progressively as indicated by the multiple broken lines in FIG. 1. A first edge of the fabric of the pouch M1 is connected to the body of the article M by means of stitches retained by the lowered needles IX and is formed by the needles lY and thus is built up by a number of stitches smaller than those of the article M, for instance, with a number of stitches (and thus of needles) equal to one half of those which have formed the fabric M; the fabric of the pouch M1 is therefore lighter than the fabric M.

In the stage shown in FIG. 2, the hooks 3, suitably advanced, have engaged a yarn loop 13 in the second edge of the pouch, setting up the loops in combination with the needles lY, which are kept operating, while the needles 1X are still kept in a lowered position, retaining the stitches of the fabric M and of the start of the fabric Ml of the annular pouch or pocket. After the formation of the loop 13, the knit fabric proceeds for a few courses of stitches as shown in FIG. 3, thus creating a flap 15 among the loops l3 and the needles lY which continue in operation. After a certain number of stitch courses, the yarn feed to the needles lY is interrupted and the flap 15 is detached from the needles, thus forming a free end flap which substantially prevents ladders, as the stitches in this flap 15 are not stressed and thus do not tend to become unlooped during the handling and use of the fabric. Under these conditions (see FIG. 4), the fabric M1 of the pouch or pocket is kept by means of the loops l3 engaged by the hooks 3. Under these conditions, the pouch formed by the fabric M1 becomes accessible in the direction of an arrow fx between the hooks 3 and the needles 1, the hooks and the needles being not connected to one another either by yarns or threads. Under these conditions, as shown for example, in FIG. 4, it is possible to effect the clamping of an intermediate loop M2 of the pouch formed by the fabric M1,.for example, introducing a clamping or restricting yarn into the pocket, or angularly off-setting the plate or dial of hooks 7 and thus the hooks 3 with respect to the cylinder 5 and to the needles 1, or in any other suitable manner.

Thus, clamping is effected, as diagrammatically shown at 17 in FIG. 5, or by means of crossing, that is, twisting of the pocket M1, or with the winding of yarn, or in any other suitable manner. At this point, the hooks return the loops to the needles lY by movement thereof to a position above the needles. It is to be noted that, on the clamping of the loop M2, the loops 13 are radially stretched inwardly and are thus located in a position for passage through the needles to effect the return operation onto the needles. In this manner, the end of the pouch Ml, previously retained by the hooks, is engaged again by the needles lY and is thus joined to the end of the fabric M. After this operation, a number of courses of stitches are additionally knitted with all the needles 1, to create a flap 19 (see FIG. 6) which is produced starting from the joining point between the fabric M and the two ends of the pouch formed by the fabric Ml. By ceasing to feed the yarn, the flap 19 is removed from the needles and thus the completed article can be detached.

The article is represented diagrammatically in FIG. 7, wherein it is possible to see how the pouch is formed by the fabric M1 as a prolongation of the fabric M, is made up of first and second layers of fabric with an edge of the outer (FIG. 7) or second layer concatenating with the first layer, and is formed by a number of stitches which are smaller than those forming the body of the fabric M. The pouch is centrally restricted at the point 17 and the pouch formed by the fabric Ml contains the flap 15 in its interior which flap is contiguous with the second fabric layer. A final flap 19 of the fabric is located within the tubular knit fabric and thus it is not visible externally. The fabric thus ends at the outer portion, owing to the presence of the flap 19 in the interior,

The two final flaps l5 and 19 may be formed with a so-called ladderproof knitted fabric.

With the inventive method of knitting the closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear using a circular knitting machine, the main portion is first knitted and thereafter an annular section pouch with a double layer of fabric at one end of the main portion is knitted. Each layer is knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion. The retaining loops are then formed on the hooks at the end of the double layer substantially at the extremity of the toe portion. A first end flap of fabric is formed after the loops between the hooks and the needles and thereafter the first end flap is disengaged from the needles by keeping it engaged to the hooks through the intermediary of the loops. The two layers are then collected together or throttled in order to close the fabric and the loops are returned to the needles. Thereafter a further course of stitches is knitted to produce a second final flap.

The method as hereinbefore particularly described 5 enables the closure of the article at the final end of the article, in particular in the case of stockings and the .like to be effected, in the conventional way, ie at the welt, and without thus having to alter the conventional working method of producing a stocking. In the case of the embodiment wherein the toe closure is effected by relative rotation between the plate carrying the hooks and the needle cylinder, the method avoids the aforesaid disadvantage of having to turn the toe inside out after the latter has been finished. In the case wherein the closure is formed by clamping with turns of clamping yarn, with the method hereinbefore described it is possible to avoid the necessity of introducing the article through the hole corresponding to the clamping zone, or it is possible to avoid having to form the article with more than two fabric layers. The method enables the knitting of the fabric of the closure pouch with a smaller number of needles than the number of needles which forms the main portion of the fabric, without the danger of ladders and obtaining a better appearance of the article.

Iclaim:

l. A method of knitting a closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear in a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder with needles sliding in longitudinal grooves of the cylinder and a hook platen with hooks sliding in radial grooves of the platen, comprising the steps of knitting a main portion, knitting to said main portion a first layer of a knit annular section pouch, knitting to said first layer a first edge of a second layer of said pouch, each said layer being knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion, forming retaining loops on the hooks at an edge of said second layer removed from the said first edge, forming a first end flap of fabric after the loops between the hooks and needles and contiguous with the said second layer, disengaging said first end flap from the needles and keeping it engaged to the hooks through the intermediary of said loops, centrally collecting the two layers of the pouch to close thefabric to form a closed toe, transferring the retaining loops to needles, and knitting further courses of stitches to produce a second final flap.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said final flap is produced by all of the needles.

3. A method for the formation on a circular knitting machine having a cylinder with needles and a platen with hooks of a closed toe portion of a stocking, said toe portion having the form of an' annular section pouch with a double layer of knit fabric and a central throttling between the two layers substantially at the center of the pouch, said method comprising the steps of knitting a main portion of the fabric with all of the needles, excluding from operation a proportion of the needles of the machine, said excluded needles retaining said main portion, forming the pouch with a first edge contiguous with the main portion with operative needles interposed between the excluded needles, forming yarn loops on the a second pouch edge and retaining said loops on the hooks of the machine platen, knitting courses of a first end flap of fabric knitted beyond said loops and contiguous with said second edge with operative needles and disengaging said first end flap of fabric from said operative needles, centrally throttling the layers of fabric of the pouch to close the toe, transfer ring the loops from the hooks on to needles, and knitting a second final end flap contiguous with said pouch and said main portion with a plurality of end courses being knitted with all of said needles.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the number of needles used in knitting the pouch is equal to the number of excluded needles and wherein the operative needles alternate with the excluded needles.

5. A method of forming and closing one end of a fabric tube on a circular knitting machine having a circle of needles adapted for rotary operation, a circle of dial bits cooperating with alternate needles of said circle and means for feeding yarns to said circle of needles including the steps of a. knitting yarn fed to said circle of needles and forming courses of said fabric tube including a terminal course thereof,

b. inactivating alternate needles of said circle of needles with stitches of said terminal course of said tube suspended thereon,

c. knitting yarn fed to needles of said circle interd. knitting yarn fed to said intermediate needles and forming courses of a second ply including an outer terminal course connected to said outer terminal course of said first ply and an inner terminal course, said outer terminal courses of said first and second plies defining the outer end of said one endof said fabric tube,

. engaging said dial bits with bights of yarn connecting the stitches of said inner terminal course of said second ply,

. knitting yarn fed to said intermediate needles and forming courses of a first fabric tab including a terminal course at one end thereof connected to said inner terminal course of said second ply and a terminal course at the other end thereof,

g. casting said terminal course at said other end of said first tab from said intermediate needles,

h. gathering said outer terminal courses of saidfirst and second plies into a bunch to close said outer end of said one end of said fabric tube,

i. transferring said yarn bights engaged by said dial bits to said alternate needles and enclosing said first tab within said first and second plies, and

j. knitting yarn fed to said alternate and intermediate ee les and formin a, firs course of a secon Fabric tab to connec said stitches of said terminzfl course of said tube and said yarn bights of said terminal course of said second ply on said alternate needles. 

1. A method of knitting a closed toe portion of an article of knitted footwear in a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder with needles sliding in longitudinal grooves of the cylinder and a hook platen with hooks sliding in radial grooves of the platen, comprising the steps of knitting a main portion, knitting to said main portion a first layer of a knit annular section pouch, knitting to said first layer a first edge of a second layer of said pouch, each said layer being knitted on a lesser number of needles than the main portion, forming retaining loops on the hooks at an edge of said second layer removed from the said first edge, forming a first end flap of fabric after the loops between the hooks and needles and contiguous with the said second layer, disengaging said first end flap from the needles and keeping it engaged to the hooks through the intermediary of said loops, centrally collecting the two layers of the pouch to close the fabric to form a closed toe, transferring the retaining loops to needles, and knitting further courses of stitches to produce a second final flap.
 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said final flap is produced by all of the needles.
 3. A method for the formation on a circular knitting machine having a cylinder with needles and a platen with hooks of a closed toe portion of a stocking, said toe portion having the form of an annular section pouch with a double layer of knit fabric and a central throttling between the two layers substantially at the center of the pouch, said method comprising the steps of knitting a main portion of the fabric with all of the needles, excluding from operation a proportion of the needles of the machine, said excluded needles retaining said main portion, forming the pouch with a first edge contiguous with the main portion with operative needles interposed between the excluded needles, forming yarn loops on the a second pouch edge and retaining said loops on the hooks of the machine platen, knitting courses of a first end flap of fabric knitted beyond said loops and contiguous with said second edge with operative needles and disengaging said first end flap of fabric from said operative needles, centrally throttling the layers of fabric of the pouch to close the toe, transferring the loops from the hooks on to needles, and knitting a second final end flap contiguous with said pouch and said main portion with a plurality of end courses being knitTed with all of said needles.
 4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the number of needles used in knitting the pouch is equal to the number of excluded needles and wherein the operative needles alternate with the excluded needles.
 5. A method of forming and closing one end of a fabric tube on a circular knitting machine having a circle of needles adapted for rotary operation, a circle of dial bits cooperating with alternate needles of said circle and means for feeding yarns to said circle of needles including the steps of a. knitting yarn fed to said circle of needles and forming courses of said fabric tube including a terminal course thereof, b. inactivating alternate needles of said circle of needles with stitches of said terminal course of said tube suspended thereon, c. knitting yarn fed to needles of said circle intermediate said alternate needles and forming courses of a first ply at said one end of said tube including an inner terminal course having stitches connected to stitches of said terminal course of said tube and an outer terminal course, d. knitting yarn fed to said intermediate needles and forming courses of a second ply including an outer terminal course connected to said outer terminal course of said first ply and an inner terminal course, said outer terminal courses of said first and second plies defining the outer end of said one end of said fabric tube, e. engaging said dial bits with bights of yarn connecting the stitches of said inner terminal course of said second ply, f. knitting yarn fed to said intermediate needles and forming courses of a first fabric tab including a terminal course at one end thereof connected to said inner terminal course of said second ply and a terminal course at the other end thereof, g. casting said terminal course at said other end of said first tab from said intermediate needles, h. gathering said outer terminal courses of said first and second plies into a bunch to close said outer end of said one end of said fabric tube, i. transferring said yarn bights engaged by said dial bits to said alternate needles and enclosing said first tab within said first and second plies, and j. knitting yarn fed to said alternate and intermediate needles and forming a first course of a second fabric tab to connect said stitches of said terminal course of said tube and said yarn bights of said terminal course of said second ply on said alternate needles. 